Customizable, modular thermal insulator

ABSTRACT

A novel modular thermal insulator is disclosed. The insulator comprises a pliable, thermally insulated container and a one-piece, self-standing, pliable shell. The container includes a front wall, rear wall, left wall, right wall, and bottom wall defining an interior compartment preferably lined with a thermoplastic polyurethane coated nylon. The container also includes a top cover pivotally connected to the rear wall. Each wall and top cover of the container is preferably thermally insulated using high-density open-cell foam insulation. Each wall of the shell defines a form-fitting receptacle for frictionally receiving the container. The shell is preferably comprised of a fabric material capable of being embroidered with, for example, a logo, name, or other indicia. The front wall, rear wall, left wall, right wall, and bottom wall of the container are slid into the receptacle of the shell and held in place by frictional engagement. Thus, with this invention, a user may have multiple, personalized shells, and choose which shell to use depending on the occasion. The result is a high-performance, soft-shelled, customizable thermal insulator with different looks.

BACKGROUND

The present disclosure relates generally to thermal insulators, such as portable coolers or ice boxes.

SUMMARY

One exemplary embodiment of the disclosed subject matter is a customizable, modular thermal insulator having a pliable, thermally insulated container and a one-piece, self-standing, pliable shell. The container includes a front wall, rear wall, left wall, right wall, bottom wall, and top cover. Each wall and top cover is preferably thermally insulated using high-density open-cell foam insulation.

The shell has a front wall, rear wall, left wall, right wall, and optional bottom wall. Each wall of the shell defines a form-fitting receptacle for frictionally receiving the front wall, rear wall, left wall, right wall, and bottom wall of the container. The shell is preferably comprised of a fabric material, such as 1680D ballistic nylon, which is capable of being embroidered.

With the above arrangement, the front wall, rear wall, left wall, right wall, and bottom wall of the container may be slid into the receptacle of the shell and held in place by frictional engagement. Thus, with this invention, a user may have multiple, personalized shells, and choose which shell to use depending on the occasion. The result is a high-performance, soft-shelled, customizable thermal insulator with different looks.

In addition to the above-disclosed structure, the top cover of the container is preferably pivotally connected to the rear wall of the container via a hinge. Moreover, the front wall, rear wall, left wall, right wall, and bottom wall of the container define an interior compartment. With this arrangement, the top cover may be pivoted about the hinge to open or close the interior compartment.

The invention may further comprise a zipper disposed substantially about the top cover and rear wall near the hinge for maintaining the top cover in a closed position over the interior compartment. A D-ring opener may be disposed about one end of the zipper.

A liner may be disposed about the interior compartment of the container. The liner is preferably is made of thermoplastic polyurethane coated nylon fabric.

The top cover of the container includes a bottom side and an opposing top side. The bottom side of the top cover preferably has a liner disposed thereon, wherein the liner of the top cover is made of thermoplastic polyurethane coated nylon fabric. The top side of the top cover may include a drawstring for retaining one or more items.

One of more of the walls of the shell may include a logo, name, or indicia embroidered thereon. The front wall, rear wall, left wall, right wall, and bottom wall of the container are slid into the receptacle of the embroidered shell and form-fitted therein for use by a user.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Some non-limiting exemplary embodiments of the disclosed subject matter are illustrated in the following drawings. Identical or duplicate or equivalent or similar structures, elements, or parts that appear in one or more drawings are generally labeled with the same reference numeral, optionally with an additional letter or letters to distinguish between similar objects or variants of objects, and may not be repeatedly labeled and/or described. Dimensions of components and features shown in the figures are chosen for convenience or clarity of presentation. For convenience or clarity, some elements or structures are not shown or shown only partially and/or with different perspective or from different point of views.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an embodiment of the customizable, modular thermal insulator disclosed herein;

FIG. 2A is a perspective view of an embodiment of a shell of the thermal insulator disclosed herein;

FIG. 2B is a perspective view of the shell of the thermal insulator seen in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3A is an exploded view of an embodiment of the customizable, modular thermal insulator disclosed herein, illustrating how the container is to be form-fitted within the self-standing shell seen in FIG. 2A; and

FIG. 3B is an exploded view of the thermal insulator seen in FIG. 1, illustrating how the container is to be form-fitted within the self-standing shell of FIG. 2B.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Thermal insulators, such as portable coolers or ice boxes, are often desirable when relaxing at the pool or beach, playing sports, or otherwise enjoying the great outdoors. The typical such insulator generally falls within two types: (1) hard cooler, or (2) soft cooler.

The conventional hard cooler is usually leakproof and highly insulative. This hard cooler, which may be referred to as an ice chest, is typically made of polyethylene plastic or metal on the outside, polypropylene on the inside, and polyurethane insulation in the middle. As the polyethylene plastic or metal on the outside is quite hard, it is incapable of being embroidered. Thus, should one desire to customize or personalize the typical hard cooler, such customization may be done during the manufacturing process via silk screening or the like. Should one desire to customize an ice chest after market, jackets or wraps exists. Such jackets or wraps include fastening means, such as hook-and-loop or elastic pockets or the like, for keeping the jacket or wrap held onto the hard outside of the cooler.

The conventional soft cooler also comes in myriad designs and performance characteristics. The soft cooler is typically a one-piece unit made from soft materials such as vinyl or polyester sewn around insulation. As vinyl and polyester are known to leak, an impermeable plastic liner may be sewn into the interior of the soft cooler. Should one desire to personalize a soft cooler, such customization may be done during the manufacturing process via silk screening or the like. However, as the typical soft cooler is a one-piece unit and leakage is a significant issue, customization via embroidery is not possible once the soft cooler is sealed up and ready-for-market.

Accordingly, a novel insulator is desired that comprises a pliable, thermally insulated container and a one-piece, self-standing, pliable shell capable of being embroidered. The walls of the container may be slid into a receptacle of the shell and held in place by frictional engagement. Thus, with this invention, a user may have multiple, personalized shells, and choose which shell to use depending on the occasion. The result is a high-performance, soft-shelled, customizable thermal insulator with different looks.

A general non-limiting overview of practicing the present disclosure is presented below. The overview outlines exemplary practice of embodiments of the present disclosure, providing a constructive basis for variant and/or alternative and/or divergent embodiments, some of which are subsequently described.

FIGS. 1-3B illustrate embodiments of the novel thermal insulator 100 disclosed herein. As seen in these figures, insulator 100 includes two main modular or interchangeable components: container 102 and shell 104.

The pliable, thermally insulated container 102 includes a front wall 106, a rear wall 108, a left wall 110, a right wall 112, bottom wall 114, and a top cover 120. The front wall 106, rear wall 108, left wall 110, right wall 112, and bottom wall 114 define an interior compartment 116. The interior compartment is fitted with a liner 118. The liner 118 is preferably a Food and Drug Association-approved thermoplastic polyurethane coated nylon fabric.

The top cover 120 includes a top side 128 and an opposing bottom side 130. The top side 128 preferably includes a drawstring 132 for retaining items on the top cover 120. The bottom side 130 preferably includes a liner 134. The liner 134 is preferably a Food and Drug Association-approved thermoplastic polyurethane coated nylon fabric.

Top cover 120 is preferably coupled to the rear wall 108 via a hinge 122. Doing so permits the top cover 120 to pivot about the hinge 122 to open or close the interior compartment 116.

A zipper 124 is disposed substantially about the rear wall 108 and the top cover 120 near the hinge 122 for maintaining the top cover 120 in a closed position over the interior compartment 116. A D-ring opener 126 may be disposed about one end of the zipper 124. The opener 126 permits a user to open a refreshment having a bottle cap or the like.

The shell 104 is a one-piece, self-standing modular unit. The shell 104 includes a front wall 136, a rear wall 138, a left wall 140, a right wall 142, and an optional bottom wall 144. Each wall 136-144 of the shell 104 defines a form-fitting receptacle for frictionally receiving the front wall 106, rear wall 108, left wall 110, right wall 112, and bottom wall 114 of the container 102. The shell 104 is preferably made of fabric material such as 1680D ballistic nylon.

The shell 104 may include handle members 146, 152. Handle member 146 may be seen stitched on front wall 136 in FIG. 1. In like manner, handle member 152 is preferably stitched on rear wall 138 of shell 104. A decorative diamond-shaped pattern 148, for customer recognizability as to the source of the product 100, may also be seen in FIG. 1.

FIG. 1 also illustrates how a wall, such as the front wall 136 of the shell 104, may include a logo, name, or indicia 150 embroidered thereon. FIG. 2A illustrates how the front wall 136 of the shell 104 may be made without any indicia, whereas FIG. 2B illustrates another embodiment of the shell 104 with indicia 150. FIG. 2B also illustrates a buckle 156 may be disposed on the right wall 142 of shell 104. A complementary buckle member 154 may be seen in FIG. 1 on left wall 140. The buckle members 154, 156 are designed to engage a strap (not shown) or the like for ease of portability of the insulator 100.

Should the occasion call for it, the user of the disclosed invention 100 may not want to display any level of personalization or customization. If so, then FIG. 3A illustrates how the user may choose the soft shell 104 of FIG. 2A, and then slide the front wall 106, rear wall 108, left wall 110, right wall 112, and bottom wall 114 of the pliable, thermally insulated container 102 into the receptacle of the one-piece, self-standing, pliable shell 104. Such engagement holds the container 102 in place by frictional engagement, i.e., no fastening means are needed.

In the alternative, the user may choose a personalized look and feel of the invention 100. If so, then FIG. 3B illustrates how the user may choose the soft shell 104 of FIG. 2B, for example, and then slide the front wall 106, rear wall 108, left wall 110, right wall 112, and bottom wall 114 of the pliable, thermally insulated container 102 into the receptacle of the one-piece, self-standing, pliable shell 104, whereby the walls 106-112 of the container 102 are held in place by frictional engagement.

It should now be apparent the disclosed thermal insulator 100 is a pliable, thermally insulated container and a one-piece, self-standing, pliable shell capable of being embroidered. As the walls of the container may be slid into a receptacle of the shell and held in place by frictional engagement, the user may have multiple, personalized shells, and choose which shell to use depending on the occasion. Thus, the present invention advantageously effects a high-performance, soft-shelled, customizable thermal insulator with different looks.

While certain embodiments have been described, the embodiments have been presented by way of example only and are not intended to limit the scope of the inventions. Indeed, the novel thermal insulator embodiments described herein may be embodied in a variety of other forms. Furthermore, various omissions, substitutions, and changes in the form of the disclosed elements may be made without departing from the spirit of the inventions. The accompanying claims and their equivalents are intended to cover such forms or modifications as would fall within the scope and spirit of the inventions. 

1. A customizable, modular thermal insulator comprising: a pliable, thermally insulated container having a front wall, rear wall, left wall, right wall, bottom wall, and top cover; and a one-piece, self-standing, pliable shell having a front wall, rear wall, left wall, and right wall, each wall of the shell defining a form-fitting receptacle for frictionally receiving the front wall, rear wall, left wall, and right wall of the container, wherein the shell is comprised of a fabric material capable of being embroidered, whereby the front wall, rear wall, left wall, right wall, and bottom wall of the container may be slid into the receptacle of the shell and held in place by frictional engagement.
 2. The insulator of claim 1, wherein the top cover is pivotally connected to the rear wall of the container via a hinge.
 3. The insulator of claim 2, wherein the front wall, rear wall, left wall, right wall, and bottom wall of the container define an interior compartment, wherein the top cover may be pivoted about the hinge to open or close the interior compartment.
 4. The insulator of claim 3, further comprising a zipper disposed substantially about the rear wall and the top cover near the hinge for maintaining the top cover in a closed position over the interior compartment.
 5. The insulator of claim 4, further comprising a D-ring opener disposed about one end of the zipper.
 6. The insulator of claim 3, further comprising a liner disposed about the interior compartment of the container, wherein the liner of the container is made of thermoplastic polyurethane coated nylon fabric.
 7. The insulator of claim 1, wherein the top cover has a bottom side and an opposing top side, wherein the bottom side of the top cover has a liner disposed thereon, and wherein the liner of the top cover is made of thermoplastic polyurethane coated nylon fabric.
 8. The insulator of claim 7, wherein the top side of the top cover has a drawstring for retaining one or more items.
 9. The insulator of claim 1, wherein the front wall of the shell includes a logo, name, or indicia embroidered thereon.
 10. The insulator of claim 1, wherein the shell has an embroidered front wall, wherein the front wall, rear wall, left wall, right wall, and bottom wall of the container are slid into the receptacle of the embroidered shell and form-fitted therein for use by a user.
 11. The insulator of claim 1, wherein the container is thermally insulated using high-density open-cell foam insulation.
 12. The insulator of claim 1, wherein the fabric material is 1680D ballistic nylon.
 13. The insulator of claim 1, wherein the shell further comprises a bottom wall. 